BANGLADESH LAW AND PRACTICE Contributed by: Shahwar Nizam, Tarannum Tasnim, Mahboob Aziz, Saif Bhuiyan, Farhan Kabir, Tanzim Ahmed and Rizvi Khan, DFDL Bangladesh
Bangladesh experienced civil unrest in July 2024, sparked by a student protest, followed by the ouster of the previous government. The demonstration by the students was against a quota system in the civil service sector that favoured family members of indi - viduals who participated in the 1971 liberation war. What began as a peaceful student protest eventually escalated into a revolution against the ruling govern - ment and its policies, resulting in the ousting of the ruling party on 5 August 2024. The student-led protest paved the way for a new interim government, with Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus being appointed as the Chief Advisor. Strict measures are being implemented to combat institutional corruption and improve Bangla - desh’s global image to attract foreign investment. Mul - tiple reform commissions have been established to address the electoral system, police, judiciary, public administration, corruption and constitutional reform. The Election Commission has been reconstituted with a new Chief Election Commissioner. These reforms aim to restore public trust, strengthen institutions and improve Bangladesh’s global standing by paving the way to an elected government – with the national par - liamentary election tentatively scheduled in February 2026. The Bangladesh economy, under the interim govern - ment, showed signs of recovery in the latter part of FY25, with strong exports making a substantial con - tribution to overall growth. Export growth remained robust in FY25, increasing by 8.8%, with ready-made garment exports (RMG) exports increasing by 8.9%, whilst non-RMG exports also strengthened. Remit - tances increased by 26.8% (year on year), reflecting the impact of exchange rate depreciation and a nar - rowing spread between formal and informal market rates that incentivised flows through official channels. the United States remained the largest remittance source, accounting for 15.6% of total inflows in FY25, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Foreign exchange reserves, which have been on a declining trajectory in recent years, have now stabi - lised, rising to as high as USD26.7 billion at the end of June 2025 following a significant disbursement
of budget support from development partners and remaining stable at USD26.5 billion (approximately 3.5 months of imports) as of September 2025. Pressures in the external sector have eased, as the exchange rate has remained broadly stable following the adoption of a more flexible, market-based regime in May 2025. The current account returned to surplus in FY25 for the first time in eight years, registering a surplus of USD149 million – a marked turnaround from the USD6.6 billion deficit recorded in FY24. In terms of infrastructure development, the World Bank approved USD850 million to help Bangladesh invest in infra - structure critical for developing the Bay Terminal deep seaport, which will significantly improve Bangladesh’s global trade competitiveness and reduce import and export costs by increasing port operational efficiency and mobilising private investment. Bangladesh has bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with 29 countries, including Austria, the Belgium- Luxembourg Economic Union, Cambodia, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Singa - pore, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the USA, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Bangladesh has double-taxation treaties (DTTs) with 44 countries, including Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singa - pore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the USA and Vietnam. In cross-border transactions, the GOB accepts for - eign governing laws and offshore dispute resolution, and it provides sovereign immunity waivers. Further, Bangladesh is a party to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbi - tral Awards, so foreign arbitration awards are directly enforceable in Bangladesh, as opposed to foreign court judgments. Due to the strict foreign exchange control regime, foreign exchange transactions are highly regulated
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